Anthem of the Angels
by dirtybirdie
Summary: AU. The death of an angel threatens to destroy the lives of those who remain.


**Anthem of the Angels****  
AU. **_The death of an angel threatens to destroy the lives of those who remain._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie's Angels. All rights belong to their respective owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only, no profit is being made. **

**A/N: **This is very much AU, as you will come to notice while reading. There will be implications of female/female relationships (later on), so if you don't like that, don't read. Be warned, there will be harsh language at times and dark themes, such as death, mentions of suicide, ect.... I haven't written anything in nearly five years, so I'm a little rusty. I hope you enjoy.

I apologize for any grammar/spelling errors.  
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Prologue: Fallen Angel

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She heard the faint sound of her name being called in the distance, but couldn't bring herself to acknowledge it. A chilled breeze swept through the air, causing her long locks to sweep around her face. Much like her name echoing around her, she paid little attention to the blond hairs that now clung to her tear stained cheeks.

Sunlight began to creep through the darkened clouds that had been invading the sky all morning. Just enough to where the light glistened off the grass, and the leaves on the trees. She hardly noticed. To her, where she was standing, everything was surrounded in darkness. There was no light where she was.

The woman wondered if she would ever see light again.

Sunlight glimmered off the marble headstone before her. The one her eyes had been fixated on for what seemed like an eternity. Her hand was pressed firmly against the top, as it had been from the moment she arrived to the site. Her petite body curved off the the side, so she wasn't standing directly in front of the headstone. It was fresh. Brand new. Only an hour old. Raised piles of dirt occupied where grass had once been.

Her name sounded closer the next time she heard it.

She wasn't sure she could answer. If she even had a voice anymore. Everything felt wrong at that moment. Small things like walking, talking, eating, sleeping... everything. The fact that she was standing there, looking at a headstone – standing next to a burial. Reading those words engraved into the marble made her feel physically ill. But she couldn't pry her eyes away. She couldn't leave.

_Kelly Garrett  
1952 – 1981  
Beloved Angel_

The past week had become one giant blur. All she could piece together was her sister holding her as she wept, Julie trying to force food on her, and spending nights laying on her bathroom floor. Those words were the cause of her pain. Pain she never thought was possible to feel.

Her breath caught in her throat as a hand touched her arm.

"Kris?"

She didn't respond immediately, but she slightly opened her mouth and mustered out a small noise. Her sister's fingers then moved to her face and tackled away the strands of hair. It wasn't until after they were gone that she realized it had been bugging her. Kris tilted her head to the side, giving Jill the acknowledgment she wanted.

"Honey?" Jill whispered, wrapping an arm around her younger sister, "You've been standing here for a while, don't you want to..."

"No," Kris answered before Jill could even ask the question, "There's nothing I want to do." She tried to sound sure of herself, but her voice betrayed her, sounding weak and hesitant.

Jill stayed silent for a moment, her half-embrace on her sister tightened. Kris' body screamed to pull away, she wasn't sure why. She only tensed her muscles and allowed Jill to think she was comforting her.

Kris' small voice cut through the silence. "Kelly's claustrophobic." Kris didn't feel the need to say _was._ It took everything in her to stand there and accept that her best friend was buried God knows how far down into the earth. But she didn't think she could speak about her in past tense.

There was a short nod as a pained reply came out of Jill's mouth,"I know."

Kris suddenly reached over and grabbed Jill's arm, her eyes filling with panic as she darted her head to the side to meet her sister's face. "I did put LilyBeth next to her, right? I don't remember..." Because Kris didn't trust herself anymore, to know what was real and what wasn't. She could've just envisioned tucking a small doll next to Kelly's body while the casket had been opened. Maybe she was having horrible hallucinations and all of this wasn't real. Her breathing became rapid, and it was the gentle touch of Jill's hand on her cheek that let her know that this was all very real.

She wished with her whole heart it wasn't.

"You did," Jill smiled assuringly, "Kelly has LilyBeth." The older woman remembered very clearly the look on Kris face earlier that morning, when it hit her for the first time that Kelly was going to be buried. Then when she realized Kelly would be alone. Jill swiftly took matters into her own hands, and sent Tiffany and Julie out on a mission to retrieve the doll from Kelly's house, all before the funeral service started. It hadn't taken them long, in fact she didn't know how they managed to find LilyBeth so fast. Only that they had arrived with time to spare and presented Kris with the doll she knew Kelly had adored.

Kris had held it close to her, and thanked Julie for bringing it to her. Tiffany, however, had been ignored.

When the casket was opened for mourners to say their final farewells, Kris watched everyone go before her. She had been amazed at the amount of former clients that came, as well as nuns, and childhood friends that Kelly had always kept in touch with. Sharon Kellerman, a woman Kelly knew since they were teenagers, became increasingly hysterical when her eyes had locked on the body of her dead friend. Kris stopped watching and listening to people after that. She couldn't bear it. When they came over to offer their condolences, she would only nod a thank you.

The remaining angels were the last to get a final look at Kelly. Kris made sure to completely tune out their cries and words of goodbye.

After the area had cleared out, Kris took LilyBeth and tucked it gently next to Kelly's body. Then the casket lid was closed. Encasing Kelly in complete darkness.

"Kris," Jill spoke again into her ear, deciding to ask if she was okay would be foolish, "What are you thinking about?"

"This morning..." Her face held doubt, "The service, the... just everything. I know what happened, but..." She shook her head, "Does any of this feel real?"

Jill sighed quietly. "I don't know what to think right now, what I do know is you're my sister and I want to take you home."

Kris gulped, ignoring her just like she did Tiffany earlier that day. "She needs flowers." The grave looked rather bare. There were a few simple roses laying on top of the dirt. But Kelly loved flowers. All kinds. She would want her resting place to look beautiful.

"We have flowers. _A lot _of flowers." Honestly, Jill had never seen so many flower baskets in all her life. They engulfed the office right after the news of a detective at the Townsend Agency being killed hit the news. Nearly every former client sent a card and a flower arraignment. To her surprise, there were even more sent to the church by the nuns that raised Kelly, friends, and even more clients. She never realized how many people Kelly had helped over the course of five years. Kris had paid very little attention to the array of colors, and once again, Jill took charge. Sabrina, Tiffany, and Bosley fit what they could in their cars, and she and Julie would take home the rest.

Tomorrow she would deal with reading the condolence cards. Every basket had one. Kris had only read a select few while at the church, but quit after reading one in particular. Jill wasn't sure why, but hoped she would find it. Who could it have been from? "We'll come back, tomorrow if you want," Jill continued, noticing Kris' distant look. "We can lay out whatever kind of flowers you want, I promise."

Kris' hand slipped off the headstone.

"I can't leave her," The detective's strangled voice went straight to Jill's heart, and she clenched her teeth to maintain composure. She couldn't fall apart, not when Kris needed her. A small cry finally broke free from Kris' mouth, but she quickly stopped anymore from being heard. "I don't think I can leave her..."

Jill turned around to face Kris fully, and grabbed her shoulders tightly. Maybe this was the only way to get her to listen. To be firm with her. Kris was in shock still, she was fully aware of that, but it was time to bring her back to reality. "That's not Kelly down there. That is a body. _A body_. The Kelly we knew – that we _loved _ is gone, Kris. She stopped being Kelly the minute she died."

Kris' jaw tightened, and her lips became a thin line. Forcefully, she tore herself away from Jill, just as she wanted to do earlier. Her eyes blazed with a mix of anger and tears. "You don't understand. Not a single bit."

Jill's eyes widened. "What don't I--" She stopped herself and let out a long breath. She had made a mistake in saying anything. "I need to get you home. This isn't the time or place for talking about this." Kris didn't respond, her face only hardened. Jill lunged forward a bit and grabbed Kris' hands, "Please? Come with me."

The younger Munroe stared at her sister for a few moments, studying her face carefully. Her shoulders then slumped.

"Fine," She whispered, lowering her head. There was something so strange about her voice, and it made Jill's stomach churn. "I'll leave."

"We can come back," Jill offered again, "I told you, we can come back. Tomorrow. Everyday. Whenever you want to visit," She would do anything to make that look on Kris' face and that tone of voice disappear. Though something inside told her it was only going to get worse. As if the past week hadn't been hard enough on everyone. But Kris... there was a difference between her pain and everybody else. That much Jill knew. But why, she couldn't figure out. And she wasn't about to ask.

"We'll come back," Kris repeated, turned away from Jill, and gingerly touched the headstone again. She made a pitiful attempt at a smile. "_I'll_ come back, with your flowers."

Jill stayed quiet, knowing Kris wasn't speaking to her.

Her hand slipped off the smooth marble one final time, and Kris made her away around the grave, finding the concrete sidewalk that led through the large cemetery.

Jill watched Kris begin walking without even turning around to see if she was following. She held back a disgruntled sigh, and looked over at Kelly's headstone. Swallowing hard, Jill moved to touch the headstone but managed to stop herself. Not yet. She couldn't start mourning yet. Maybe once Kris pulled herself together, but not until' then.

She couldn't let herself feel anything.

The race car driver quickly started moving her feet, and began running along the maze-like sidewalk which led to other area's the cemetery, including the parking lot – their destination. It didn't take her long to catch up to Kris.

Neither spoke to each other along the way.

* * *

All four decided not to leave until Kris did. It was only three in the afternoon, yet the day felt like it had been going on forever. The funeral service happened at nine, the outdoor cemetery service at eleven, and then the actual burial. Kris refused to leave until after everything was done. While nobody watched the casket being lowered into the ground, Kris decided she wanted to see the grave immediately afterward. Which was at two. It was now three.

They had been standing outside for an hour.

Julie leaned against the front of her orange pinto, which sat directly next to Bosley's car. Where Sabrina, Bosley, and Tiffany huddled together, talking amongst themselves. She squirmed, feeling awkwardly out of place around Tiffany and Sabrina, who had taken to each other rather quickly. Julie met Tiffany only the day before, and – she hated to admit it, felt an instant disliking toward her. Though, she reasoned in her mind, that she didn't like Kelly and Kris much at first either. But that hadn't lasted very long.

Sabrina seemed a bit more personable than Tiffany Welles, but Julie wasn't sure. They really hadn't talked much. Sabrina's named was rarely mentioned around the office, and when it was, weird things would happen. Bosley said it once while talking about an old case, which caused Kris to make a small hissing sound at, and Kelly to stiffen and look like someone kicked her. Then she would walk around in a horrible mood the rest of the day, with Kris trying to cheer her up.

She always meant to ask Bosley what that was all about.

"You know, that was my car first."

Julie's head shot up when she heard the familiar husky voice. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sabrina eying her. Tiffany was giggling with a hand over her mouth, and Sabrina was smirking.

"Oh," Julie finally said, and moved away from her car. Which was stupid because it was _her_ car. "Uhm," She looked to Bosley, who didn't look interested in what they were talking about. "Okay?"

"I just find it funny after five years Charlie still hasn't gotten new cars."

"Oh," Julie said again, nodding her head up and down. "Well... it gets me to where I need to be." She didn't quite understand – today didn't seem like the appropriate day to be joking or talking about cars. Especially in a cemetery parking lot. Julie noticed Sabrina's odd expression and looked away.

"Hey," The older woman moved closer to her, leaning up against the pinto just as Julie had been doing, "You looked like you were lost in your own little world over here, I thought I'd say something to get your mind off whatever it was."

Julie blinked, then relaxed a little. Oh yes, definitely more personable than Tiffany, who was standing quietly over by Bosley.

"Worked, huh?" Sabrina smiled a little.

Julie shrugged, taking a place next to the former angel. "Yeah. I'm sorry I'm not being very conversational, it's just..."

"I'm not in a talking mood either," Sabrina jotted out quickly, "But I need to right now. I need to keep talking about things. Different things. Like cars."

The newest angel didn't need to hear anymore. She understood. "Cars," Julie mused, "Well, I hope you don't mind but I've banged up this one quite a few times."

"So have I," Tiffany waved her hand, speaking up for the first time. "More than a few times, I will admit."

Sabrina chuckled quietly, but Julie could hardly manage a smile. She wanted to talk – wanted to think – about something different. Something other than Kelly. But even talking about cars reminded her of the deceased angel. All she could think about now was the way Kelly used to drive, and her little story about how she used to hot wire cars as a teenager.

Julie closed her eyes. She was accustomed to death. To people being ripped out of her life. But this was different. Kelly's death made her feel a jumbled mess of emotions that at times were difficult to control. There was no getting even. The murderer had been arrested and put in jail already. Julie gritted her teeth, but kept silent as Julie and Sabrina talked more about previous car wrecks.

Kelly had been her family. Her sister. Even a mother figure, though they hadn't been far apart in age. In their own sort of way, Kris and Kelly both became like parental figures to her. The thought of Kelly's loyal friendship chased away her frown, and her lips even curved into the slightest smile.

That's why she had been staying with Kris and Jill at the beach house. She would never forget the state Kris was in at the hospital on that horrible day. After that, she didn't leave Kris' side, even though her sister was with her as well. Jill needed her there too, but she wouldn't admit it. With the shape Kris was in, Jill needed help. They would both take turns staying up with her when she couldn't sleep; holding her when she cried; sitting on the bathroom floor with her when she got sick, and laying in bed next to her when she did fall asleep. Just so she would know someone was with her.

Jill might be strong. But she was only one person.

"There you go again," Sabrina waved a hand in front of her face, "Thinking too much."

Julie didn't want to hear anymore casual jokes. "It's been a hard week."

"I know."

"Do you?" She shot back, "I don't think you know. If you did, you wouldn't be sitting here talking about _cars_!"

There it was. The anger she felt. The anger she had nowhere to put.

"What do you want me to do?" Sabrina looked at her intensely, and Julie could see the unshed tears she was fighting with all her might to hold back. "Fall apart right here in the parking lot? I've done that already. I've been doing that all week. When I get back to my hotel, I'll probably do it again. But as I sit here..." Sabrina took in a deep breath and blinked away the liquid burning in her eyes, "As I sit here, I want to talk about other things. I don't think that's wrong."

_It's not, _Julie wanted to say, but didn't.

"We all mourn in our own way," Tiffany spoke softly.

"I shouldn't be saying anything," Julie huffed, "I haven't even cried yet. I don't know why. I feel like I should, but I never do."

Sabrina was about to reply when the sound of heels clicking against the pavement startled them. Their heads shot up and twisted around to look behind them.

There was Kris, with Jill in tow.

Sabrina and Julie both straightened their forms and leaned away from the car. Kris came up to them first and she squeezed Julie's forearm. Julie smiled at her, and was going to ask her if she was okay – until she spotted the glare her friend was giving Sabrina.

It was as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees just by her presence. Her stare was cold, ruthless, and unforgiving. Sabrina gasped a little, obviously not used to someone looking her dead in the eye like they wanted to strangle them. She even shrunk backward a little into the car.

No words needed to be said, apparently. Kris' eyes told the story of how she felt about Sabrina. Julie just wanted to know why. She was sure everyone wanted to know why.

Kris' lips twitched and she tore her harsh glare from Sabrina. She turned around and looked at Jill with disdain."I'll be in the car."

She breezed by Bosley and Tiffany, not even bothering to give one a hello or a deadly stare.

Jill stayed behind, her eyes wide with shock as she watched Kris walk to the end of the parking lot.

"Hm," Sabrina, amazingly, was the first one to speak up. "I don't think she likes me anymore."

"Us either, apparently," Tiffany piped up, and put a hand on Bosley's shoulder – who still had yet to speak. He muttered something inaudible and moved to his car door and got inside.

"Oh my God," Jill groaned, placing a hand on her head. "I'm so sorry, Bri. She's not herself right now, but she didn't have a right to look at you like that," She breathed heavily, becoming more distressed by the second. Julie wanted to reach over and pull her close, but Sabrina was on the same brain wave, and acted quicker than she did.

"Relax, kiddo," Sabrina smiled, looking as if she was trying to shrug it off. But to Jill and Julie, it was obvious that the unsaid hatred had hurt. "She's going through a lot, _we're all_ going through a lot." She walked over to Jill and hugged her tightly. "You tell her we're all gonna get through this, okay? Because we are," She sighed into Jill's thick hair, " We have no other choice."

Jill sagged into Sabrina's embrace, resting her cheek on Sabrina's shoulder. "You promise?"

"Definitely."

Julie's face darkened.

Jill smiled and looked up at her oldest friend. "Thank you, I needed to hear that, Bri." She pulled away and looked over at Julie, "Are you coming back to my house?"

"Do you need to ask?"

Jill crossed her arms. "You can stay as long as you keep cooking."

Julie almost snickered, not daring to let Jill see the discontentment she was suddenly feeling. "Haven't I cooked every single day for you this week?"

Feeling less panicked thanks to Sabrina's comfort, she managed to smirk. "It's been the highlight of my week. I'll see you later then." She turned around and pecked Sabrina's cheek. "I have to get Kris home now, stop over whenever you want."

"I will," Sabrina patted Jill's back, and she took off in a jog down the parking lot, waving to Bosley and Tiffany and she passed them by. Tiffany had already gotten in the passenger seat of Bosley's car, now all they were waiting on was Sabrina. "Well," Sabrina took notice and pointed to the vehicle, "Bos is my ride back to the hotel, I better - "

Julie narrowed her eyes sharply. "I don't believe you."

"What?"

"That promise. I don't believe you. I don't think you even believe yourself."

Sabrina's body stilled. Her face became unmoving until she spoke, "Jill believes me. That's what matters, right?"

Julie grunted, walking over to the driver's side of her car. "I'm not one to make promises I can't keep."

The brunette resisted the urge to reply, instead she waved Julie off, and got in Bosley's car. The engine roared, and in the matter of seconds, the car disappeared around a curve. Julie slammed her hand into the roof of the pinto as she began to get into her car.

She sunk into her seat, allowing the days events to finally be felt physically. She was tired. No, she was _exhausted._ And it wasn't even four in the afternoon yet.

Julie decided as soon as she arrived at the beach house, she was pouring herself a drink.

--

**A/N: **This chapter is meant to be rather mysterious and vague on certain things, I don't want to reveal too much right away. Next chapters will be longer.


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